THE CHANGES IN THE LIVES OF A SMALL TOWN'S YOUNG GENERATION (Przemiany w zyciu mlodego pokolenia malego miasteczka)

Wiskitki is a small town situated 6 km from Zyrardów. It has been treated as a laboratory for studying the mechanisms and directions of social change in a small town. The social and geographic mobility of Wiskitki's young generation in relation to their education level and education aspirations were the study's subject. Several data sources were used: Wiskitki 7-grade school's archives covering the period from 1925 to 1960, interviews, participant observation, date stemming from the pupil's essays on a given topic and several others. The factors influencing the change in the upward social mobility patters were the changes both in the sphere of institutions, infrastructure and economic relations, as well as in social consciousness. The increased demand for qualified labor force in the neighboring bigger town and the new bus line between Wiskitki and Zyrardów are the examples of the first group of factors. The change of particular professions' social prestige illustrates the second group of factors.